Schuh Reflects On First Months As County Executive

One week after County Executive Steve Schuh took the oath of office and set up shop on the fourth floor of the Arundel Center, he called an all-hands-on-deck meeting of his cabinet to lay out his vision for county government.

The singular goal – and the refrain throughout his election campaign – was to make Anne Arundel County “the best place to live, work and start a business in the state of Maryland.” Schuh went down the line, explaining the role each department would play in realizing that vision and how his administration would operate.

Schuh, now fully settled into his new position, is pleased with the rate at which his vision has progressed in the two months since being sworn in.

“It’s a dramatically different experience from serving as a state delegate,” Schuh remarked. “The legislature by its nature is a deliberative, slow-moving body; the county executive position … moves at a much higher rate of speed and carries with it a lot more responsibility in terms of day-to-day operations and getting things done. It’s a way to have real impact, and I must say I’m very much enjoying the job.”

The Gibson Island resident believes he has assembled the strongest administration team in county history. In putting together his cabinet, Schuh specifically sought out individuals who possessed a wealth of knowledge in their respective fields and knew Anne Arundel County inside and out. “Almost all of our cabinet members are dyed-in-the-wool Anne Arundel County people,” Schuh noted.

The former delegate made no secret of his longtime goal to become county executive, and his appointments, from new Police Chief Tim Altomare to Education Liaison Amalie Brandenburg, reflect his preparations to that end.

“I probably started thinking about the team that would come together almost a year ago, which is why upon swearing in we were able to assemble the cabinet so quickly,” Schuh explained.

With his cabinet in place, Schuh immediately restructured the departments into core groups to promote communication and look for better ways of doing business. For example, all of the county’s law enforcement offices and departments – police, fire, corrections, the State’s Attorney’s office, the sheriff’s office and the Office of Parole and Probation – have been combined into a single integrated unit, which meets on a regular basis. The managerial overhaul is the product of Schuh’s top priority: efficiency.

“I am absolutely determined to make sure that every tax dollar is spent wisely by this county and we are on our way to doing that,” he acknowledged.

The goals Schuh laid out along the campaign trail – lower taxes, cleaner waterways, the construction of smaller, neighborhood high schools, increased staffing among the public safety ranks - appear to be on their way. Schuh said he has instructed the budget office to plan for a 3 percent property tax cut, and he plans to fully fund efforts to restore broken stormwater pipes and fix eroded creeks throughout the county in his first budget, which he will deliver in May.

The county executive says he also intends to invest in improving the public safety infrastructure by constructing a new police academy and developing a central booking facility for the county. Under the current system, such facilities are scattered throughout the county, causing the process of booking suspects to become protracted and tedious for officers.

“It’s extremely inefficient and it consumes an inordinate amount of police time,” Schuh explained.

In late January, Schuh declared a state of emergency and unveiled a comprehensive task force devoted to tackling the county’s growing heroin epidemic. Last year, the county saw more than 300 overdoses and nearly one opioid-related death per week. The task force, which includes officials from a range of fields, including law enforcement, mental health, education and law, delivered a laundry list of recommendations and programs aimed at curbing heroin’s growth.

“My goal is that Anne Arundel County will become the most miserable place to be a drug dealer in Maryland, and we’re not going to stop until every drug dealer is driven out of this county or locked up where he or she belongs,” Schuh said. “The goal is no more overdoses, no more fatalities, no more broken hearts, no more ruined families, no more ruined lives.”

Two months into his position atop Anne Arundel County government, it appears Schuh has hit the ground the running, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. “It’s a full day’s work, there’s no question about that,” Schuh acknowledged. “But I knew what I was getting into.”